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| 4 Months (in the co-sleeper) |
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| 21 months (in the crib) |
Some things never change.
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Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Remember When Wednesday: A Leg Up
Some things never change.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
hello my name is...
Hello my name is dadda. Apparently I'm a guest blogger here. Stay tuned for more poignant and insightful parenting wisdom to come.
The Dada and Cole Connection
It's been a busy and stressful past few weeks. Never before has my job been so utterly unenjoyable. What with a student teacher, curriculum mapping and end of the quarter grading blues, I could not manage to pull myself out of the weeds until two weekends ago when Keith took Cole to Grandma's for an entire day. That's when I finally wrapped my head around my grading and pulled myself up by the bootstraps. Then the week that followed came with more stress, but on the personal level, and I am still looking back on it wondering how I made it through the work week with all of the worries I carried inside of me.
I'm sure you are all wondering, though, how the Big Changes have affected our family. And I have to say, that after the first two weeks on our new schedule, it is most definitely a positive change. Keith and I are so glad he took this leap. Our time with Cole is now more focused. And it is just that - Our Time. We value it, and we give him our complete attention. We are not jockeying for time on the computer, or in the bathroom or where ever. We're apart and alone with Cole. And we value our time as a family more too. Cole is benefitting from it for sure. He's sleeping better and he's happier, bouncing around and saying "Happy!" He looks forward to his two days a week with his friends at school, and is so happy when I come home on the days he's with Dada. He and Keith are connecting on a whole new level. In fact, when I came home with him on Thursday, after picking him up from school, he actually leaned over to Keith and asked for Keith to hold him instead. It was so sweet! It made me happy to see that he feels that connected to Dada that he's willing to part from me.
Some other ways the Big Changes have affected our family:
We've discovered that Cole's natural wake up time is 7:30 a.m., sometimes even 8 a.m.
Cole has stopped nursing in the morning on most weekdays because we let him sleep until his natural wake up time. We used to wake him up at 6:15 a.m. so I could nurse and he could see Mama just before she left for work. But now, he's alright with not seeing Mama upon wake up.
The cats are happier that we're home more, but, *Sigh* that doesn't mean they are fed more.
Mama can stay after work for a few extra minutes and not feel guilty! What a wonderful feeling.
We eat together as a family at around 5:15 p.m., before Keith leaves for work. Eating that early and that consistently is very different from our previous dinner times. Once, Cole actually ate dinner before having his afternoon Doo Doo. I'd never think that was possible before!
Cole's nightly routine is more predictable now that it's just he and I four nights a week. I changed his routine a bit too, so that it wouldn't rely so heavily on nursing to sleep (although sometimes, desperate times call for desperate measures). I'll allow him to nurse before bath. We'll read books after bath. We brush teeth before bath. You get the drift. The only drawback is that when it takes him 2 hours to stay asleep, it's Cole and I those whole 2 hours. No rest for the weary.
I'm sure you are all wondering, though, how the Big Changes have affected our family. And I have to say, that after the first two weeks on our new schedule, it is most definitely a positive change. Keith and I are so glad he took this leap. Our time with Cole is now more focused. And it is just that - Our Time. We value it, and we give him our complete attention. We are not jockeying for time on the computer, or in the bathroom or where ever. We're apart and alone with Cole. And we value our time as a family more too. Cole is benefitting from it for sure. He's sleeping better and he's happier, bouncing around and saying "Happy!" He looks forward to his two days a week with his friends at school, and is so happy when I come home on the days he's with Dada. He and Keith are connecting on a whole new level. In fact, when I came home with him on Thursday, after picking him up from school, he actually leaned over to Keith and asked for Keith to hold him instead. It was so sweet! It made me happy to see that he feels that connected to Dada that he's willing to part from me.
Some other ways the Big Changes have affected our family:
We've discovered that Cole's natural wake up time is 7:30 a.m., sometimes even 8 a.m.
Cole has stopped nursing in the morning on most weekdays because we let him sleep until his natural wake up time. We used to wake him up at 6:15 a.m. so I could nurse and he could see Mama just before she left for work. But now, he's alright with not seeing Mama upon wake up.
The cats are happier that we're home more, but, *Sigh* that doesn't mean they are fed more.
Mama can stay after work for a few extra minutes and not feel guilty! What a wonderful feeling.
We eat together as a family at around 5:15 p.m., before Keith leaves for work. Eating that early and that consistently is very different from our previous dinner times. Once, Cole actually ate dinner before having his afternoon Doo Doo. I'd never think that was possible before!
Cole's nightly routine is more predictable now that it's just he and I four nights a week. I changed his routine a bit too, so that it wouldn't rely so heavily on nursing to sleep (although sometimes, desperate times call for desperate measures). I'll allow him to nurse before bath. We'll read books after bath. We brush teeth before bath. You get the drift. The only drawback is that when it takes him 2 hours to stay asleep, it's Cole and I those whole 2 hours. No rest for the weary.
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| This is evidence of our pathetic winter. |
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| Shopping with Cole has started to look like this. |
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| And this... |
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| This is a pic of Cole during one of our evenings together. Apple sauce all over his favorite (and only) robe. |
Saturday, February 4, 2012
A bad case of the wants
Although I am happy to hear Cole forming sentences and communicating his needs in a way we can fully understand, it still comes with its pitfalls. Cole has learned how to want. And probably like most toddlers, "want" feels like need. When Cole wants something he wants it NOW. Actually, forget "now" - because he wanted it five minutes ago. This is what he usually wants:
"I want Mama." (in the middle of the night, in the morning, when I'm grading)
"I want a cracker." (usually before and after dinner)
"I want to talk to Dada." (this request occurs when Keith makes his nightly I'm-on-my-way-home-from-work phone call - which won't happen much anymore because, um, he'll already BE home!).
"I want strawberries." (this kid loooooves his berries)
"I want blueberries." (this is still by far his favorite food, aside from crackers)
"I want Doo Doo." (When will he not?)
"I want to nurse." (this want started when he repeated my question, which was - "Do you want to nurse?"
I want Doo Doo Yo Gabba Gabba.
(this is some weirdly warped combination of wants).
"I want remote." (he knows all of our hiding places for this coveted object.)
And then if you don't give him any of the above quick enough, he shouts urgently:
"I want it! I want it! I want it"
(Keith's response as of late is: I want a cheeseburger. I want a vacation. And of course, Cole, gladly repeats this.)
Things we love right now?
He looooves to dance. He usually shouts, "Musac!" and runs to the source. Wednesday night Keith was playing the Chili Peppers on the kitchen radio and Cole started to bop his head, and before I knew it all three of us were throwing down in the middle of the kitchen. That just goes to show you how good of a band they still are.
Cole continues to be this amazingly loving little man. When we left Lori and Tommy's house Saturday night, Cole gave Tommy a kiss goodbye (Tommy wasn't really feeling a hug). So freaking sweet.
He can sit for an entire (and sometimes repeated) readings of a book. For instance, I read a book called Tired Trucks to him and he said "Again!" after I finished reading it. He said it multiple times so I ended up reading the book over and over and over again! It was awesome!
When he tells me he's just pooped or pooping or will poop. It always ends up sounding like this: "I pooped" or "I poop" and even though he appears to have strained, no poop appears.
He did go pee pee on his potty all by himself. But this happened once and since then we've had a few liquid accidents when we've chosen to let him go nakey. Grandma Carolyn assures me that it will happen and I shouldn't worry too much about it.
He's very good with learning people's names, even the challenging ones. It's just part of his determined nature to keep practicing until he gets it right.
"I want Mama." (in the middle of the night, in the morning, when I'm grading)
"I want a cracker." (usually before and after dinner)
"I want to talk to Dada." (this request occurs when Keith makes his nightly I'm-on-my-way-home-from-work phone call - which won't happen much anymore because, um, he'll already BE home!).
"I want strawberries." (this kid loooooves his berries)
"I want blueberries." (this is still by far his favorite food, aside from crackers)
"I want Doo Doo." (When will he not?)
"I want to nurse." (this want started when he repeated my question, which was - "Do you want to nurse?"
I want Doo Doo Yo Gabba Gabba.
(this is some weirdly warped combination of wants).
"I want remote." (he knows all of our hiding places for this coveted object.)
And then if you don't give him any of the above quick enough, he shouts urgently:
"I want it! I want it! I want it"
(Keith's response as of late is: I want a cheeseburger. I want a vacation. And of course, Cole, gladly repeats this.)
Things we love right now?
He looooves to dance. He usually shouts, "Musac!" and runs to the source. Wednesday night Keith was playing the Chili Peppers on the kitchen radio and Cole started to bop his head, and before I knew it all three of us were throwing down in the middle of the kitchen. That just goes to show you how good of a band they still are.
Cole continues to be this amazingly loving little man. When we left Lori and Tommy's house Saturday night, Cole gave Tommy a kiss goodbye (Tommy wasn't really feeling a hug). So freaking sweet.
He can sit for an entire (and sometimes repeated) readings of a book. For instance, I read a book called Tired Trucks to him and he said "Again!" after I finished reading it. He said it multiple times so I ended up reading the book over and over and over again! It was awesome!
When he tells me he's just pooped or pooping or will poop. It always ends up sounding like this: "I pooped" or "I poop" and even though he appears to have strained, no poop appears.
He did go pee pee on his potty all by himself. But this happened once and since then we've had a few liquid accidents when we've chosen to let him go nakey. Grandma Carolyn assures me that it will happen and I shouldn't worry too much about it.
He's very good with learning people's names, even the challenging ones. It's just part of his determined nature to keep practicing until he gets it right.
He repeats everything we say. Everything.
Here are some cute pics from the past 6 weeks.
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| Cookie! |
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| He wanted his roller coaster, but little did he know it would be so difficult to get to. |
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| Snow! |
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| I want to walk. |
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| Hmmm. Outside awaits. |
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| If I want my feet on the table, I'm putting them up. |
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| This robe is cozy! |
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| Dada, this Xylophone is not doing the trick. Can you make me a balance board? |
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